


primis temporibus

by winterheats



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, First Times, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, literally the tiniest amount of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 06:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17259593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterheats/pseuds/winterheats
Summary: the many "firsts" of minhyun and jaehwan's relationship





	1. something i need

**Author's Note:**

> not to get corny but i'd like to first start off by thanking the mods for putting this event together! i look forward to enjoying all the work contributed by everyone who participated ヽ(^◇^*)/
> 
> as for my fic, i honestly didnt intend for it to be 11k........but here we are! 
> 
> each chapter offers a glimpse into the different "firsts" of minhwan's relationship, e.g., the first time they met, the first time they kiss, the first time they argue, etc.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What was special about their first meeting was that it was the seed to a blossoming friendship, which eventually bloomed into a bright and long lasting relationship, one full of romance, intimacy, and most importantly, love."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song insp ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKCGBgOgp08))

\- ♡ -

The first time they met was casual, a pretty common way people meet in college: being in the same class.

For that particular class, Jaehwan always sat in the back of the lecture hall. It wasn’t because he wanted to spend the lecture scrolling on social media like others around him did, but because there was only one set of doors to the hall and Jaehwan hated scrambling with a bunch of other bodies trying to leave. Sitting in the back allowed him to exit the hall without hassle once class was over.

Minhyun on the other hand, was someone who consistently sat somewhere in the first couple rows, regardless of the class. But on that one particular day, Minhyun was running late and rather than make a fuss for a seat in one of the front rows, he sat in the closest open seat nearest to the doors, which so happened to be next to Jaehwan. 

“Hi,” Minhyun said, his breath a bit uneven from the fast walking he had to do to get to class. Jaehwan looked at him weirdly, unsure why someone he didn’t know sat next to him and started talking to him as if they knew each other. 

“Did I miss anything important?” Minhyun asked while he rummaged his backpack for his notebook and a pen. 

“Not much,” Jaehwan replied. 

Minhyun got out his notebook and placed it on the small desk in front of him then proceeded to look for his pen, when he suddenly realized that the pocket where he always kept his pen was empty. Trying not to panic, Minhyun hurriedly checked his other pockets and with no luck, was unable to find his pen, which left him no choice but to turn to the boy next to him, whose name he still didn’t know, and ask for a pen. 

“Sorry, but do you have another pen I could borrow?” He tried to sound as polite and charming as he could, hoping he didn’t sound like some entitled asshole. 

Jaehwan made an unfortunate face. “Sorry, man, I don’t. I hate to sound like that person but I don’t really carry more than just one pen on me.”

Minhyun frowned. It’s not like he could even use his laptop to take notes because he left that back at his dorm too. “Oh,” Minhyun said. He couldn’t even hide the disappointment in his tone. 

Jaehwan felt bad, even though he had no reason to. “Do you want me to ask the guy a couple seats down?” Jaehwan asked, hoping that would restore hope in Minhyun. 

“It’s alright,” Minhyun said, accepting defeat. He figured he’d just sit and absorb the lecture as best as he could. He leaned back in his seat slightly, already thinking about how else his day could go wrong on top of being late and not having anything to take notes with. 

“Do you wanna see my notes after class?” Jaehwan asked. Judging by the way Minhyun was already slouched in his seat, Jaehwan could tell the other boy had given up. 

“I can’t,” Minhyun said. “I have to rush over to my next class right after.” It was a nice gesture but of course today seemed like everything had to go wrong for him. 

“That’s no problem,” Jaehwan responded. “If you give me your number I can send you pictures of my notes.” 

_Smooth_ , Jaehwan thought. He wasn’t sure what rocked the other boy’s boat but stuff like that never stopped Jaehwan. 

“Are you trying to flirt with me?” Minhyun asked with a suspicious look on his face. 

“Hm,” Jaehwan started. “Am I? Or is this some kind of stunt _you_ pull on people you wanna flirt with? Pretending you don’t have a pen so you can get their number to share notes.”

Jaehwan knew it mostly likely wasn’t the latter but Minhyun had it coming when he asked Jaehwan if he was flirting with him just because Jaehwan offered to share his notes. 

“Wow,” Minhyun responded. He really didn’t expect the other boy to turn the tables on him but he did. “May I?” he asked, gesturing to Jaehwan’s pen.

With the pen, Minhyun scribbled his number on a piece of notebook paper, tore it out then handed it to Jaehwan. “Minhyun,” he said, finally introducing himself. 

Jaehwan took the piece of paper in his hands and looked at the number. _Nice_ , he thought to himself with a subtle grin on his face.

He folded the piece of paper and stuck it inside his front packet. “Jaehwan,” he said, also finally introducing himself. 

So maybe the way they met wasn’t quite so typical. Yeah, they met in class, but most first meetings in college with fellow peers don’t involve much sexual tension (although it _was_ college, so that’s pretty debateable). What was special about their first meeting was that it was the seed to a blossoming friendship, which eventually bloomed into a bright and long lasting relationship, one full of romance, intimacy, and most importantly, love.


	2. not a bad thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Maybe Jaehwan was right, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for Minhyun to fall in love with him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song insp ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8ygKnBtKAk))

\- ♡ -

The first time that Minhyun and Jaehwan realized they had feelings for each other happened shortly after their first encounter.

 **unidentified number:**  
hey it’s jaehwan   
(click to download attachments)  
here’s the notes from today. i wouldve   
gotten them to u sooner but i had vocal  
training for a couple hours. hope my   
handwriting isn’t too hard to read

“Vocal training? Is he a singer?” Minhyun asked himself later that same day they first met when he got Jaehwan’s text message. 

If Minhyun were to be honest, he wasn’t really waiting around for Jaehwan’s text; in fact, he had completely forgotten about it by the time he was sitting in his next class. What Minhyun hadn’t forgotten was Jaehwan and their brief exchange (he honestly could care less about the notes). Minhyun had met a lot of people but none had ever left such an impression on him the way Jaehwan did, and because there was something in his gut telling him that he wanted to get to know Jaehwan more, he did something he would’ve never thought he’d do. 

**minhyun:**  
cool thanks!   
i’m having a little trouble   
deciphering a couple words.  
do you wanna grab coffee   
and go over the notes with me?

Jaehwan grinned like a fool at his screen. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Minhyun was definitely something, and because he felt like pursuing that something, Jaehwan agreed.

**jaehwan:**  
sounds good!  
meet @ starbucks in half  
an hour?

Minhyun looked at the notification on his phone then smiled. 

**minhyun:**  
fine with me

Unfortunately, their little study date didn’t last long due to the shop closing half an hour after they arrived, nor did they get much “studying” done either. Most of their time spent at the sandwich shop, although short, was basically them attempting to go over Jaehwan’s notes but failing because they couldn’t stop staring and giggling at each other. 

“I don’t think we actually got much reviewing done,” Jaehwan said as they stood outside the then-closed sandwich shop. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Minhyun responded. 

They stood there awkwardly for a couple seconds, avoiding eye contact. 

“I enjoyed it though,” Jaehwan said quietly. Minhyun turned his head to look at him. 

“Really?” he asked. 

“Yeah, we should do this again.” 

Minhyun chuckled. “You mean pretending to study?”

Jaehwan laughed. “Hey! We _tried_ to study, but anyway, I was referring to us just...hanging out, I guess.”

“I’d like that,” Minhyun said. Three words that would end up solidifying their relationship.

From then on, Minhyun and Jaehwan had become quite close. What was interesting was how their friendship developed. They were both busy with their own schedules so rarely did they reach out to hang out, the two just so happened to cross paths a lot. Other than the shared class they had together, Minhyun and Jaehwan pretty much spent their time on opposite ends of the campus. 

“I swear this is like the third time this week we bumped into each other,” Jaehwan said when Minhyun ended up at the same sandwich shop on campus as him. 

“Crazy, huh?” Minhyun said. The two of them were both waiting for their orders but would end up going in different directions once done. Minhyun had class on the west end of the campus while Jaehwan had class on the east end. 

“Almost as if we’re fated to keep bumping into each other,” Jaehwan said as he playfully avoided eye contact. 

Minhyun chuckled at the remark. He’d never thought he’d enjoy being so corny with someone as much as he did with Jaehwan. They never really interacted that much outside of the shared encounters due to crossing paths, which was a shame considering they both had each other’s numbers and could simply ask to hang out. 

“Order for Jaehwan?”

Jaehwan walked over to pick up his sandwich from the counter and returned to Minhyun. “Well, guess I’ll see you when I bump into you again?” 

Minhyun nodded his head. “Yeah, see you.”

Jaehwan wasn’t far when Minhyun chased after him a couple moments later after the former left the sandwich shop. 

“Everything alright?” Jaehwan asked. 

“Yeah,” Minhyun exhaled heavily. It was a short distance but he was a bit out of shape, hence why he was trying to catch his breath. “I was just wondering,” he paused to breathe, “if you wanted,” another breathe, “to hang out this Friday?”

Jaehwan thought for a second. He was quite surprised Minhyun was asking him out, if he were completely being honest. Yeah, their exchanges were flirtatious, but he could never tell if Minhyun actually wanted more or wanted to keep their relationship the way it was. Judging by the way Minhyun just tried to chase after him to ask him out, it seems he did want more. 

But sometimes Jaehwan liked playing hard to get, especially when he knew for sure that the other person was interested. “Not sure if I’ll be free on Friday but I’ll let you know,” he said. 

It wasn’t quite rejection, but it wasn’t a definite answer either, and for someone like Minhyun who liked things to be clear cut, Jaehwan’s answer crushed him a little. 

“Minhyun?” Jaehwan said.

“Hm?”

Minhyun wondered if Jaehwan was going to agree to seeing him that Friday. 

“I think your order’s done.”

Maybe Minhyun should’ve have gotten his hopes up too soon. “Oh, right.”

“I’ll see you around,” Jaehwan said before waving and walking away, a playful smile on his face. 

Defeated, Minhyun walked back to the sandwich and picked up his order.

\- • -

Minhyun really didn’t expect Jaehwan to reject him, and if Jaehwan did have actual plans for Friday, Minhyun was planning on not taking it personal. But when Friday morning came and Minhyun woke up to a text from Jaehwan, his day could only get better from then on.

 **jaehwan:**  
hongdae @ 755pm

How Jaehwan managed to send a text that simultaneously felt oddly specific and vague was beyond Minhyun, but he couldn’t complain because it was ten times better than rejection.

**minhyun:**  
where @ hongdae?

**jaehwan:**  
i’ll let u know in a   
couple of hours

It wasn’t quite the answer Minhyun was expecting but there wasn’t much he could do about it. All Minhyun could do was wait (which he really didn’t want to do, he just wanted to see Jaehwan again). 

“Why are you smiling at your phone like that?”

Minhyun looked up from his phone to see his roommate, Seongwoo, in bed giving him a weird expression. “What?” he asked. 

“You’re whipped,” Seongwoo laughed. 

“I’m not!” Minhyun immediately protested (he was). 

“Is it that boy you keep bumping into?” Seongwoo asked. He was with Minhyun the couple of times the latter crossed paths with Jaehwan. 

“Yeah,” Minhyun admitted. “We’re hanging out later tonight.”

“It’s about time,” Seongwoo said. “Didn’t you meet him like a week ago or something?”

“Yeah, I guess. We have the same class but it’s a pretty big lecture and I ended up sitting next to him one day,” Minhyun explained. 

“Well,” Seongwoo started as he sat up in his bed, “I don’t think I’ve seen you fallen for someone this quick.”

Minhyun scoffed. “I have _not_ fallen for him,” he tried to say seriously. 

“Sure, keep telling yourself that,” Seongwoo said as he got up and grabbed his bathrobe. Before he left the room, he paused then turned to look back at Minhyun. “Should I sleep somewhere else tonight? Or does your new boyfriend have a place of his own for y’all to do your - hey!”

Minhyun had thrown his pillow at Seongwoo. “Go take your shower!”

“Fine, fine! Cranky.”

When Seongwoo left the room, Minhyun remained sitting in his bed. He stared at his chat with Jaehwan on his phone. To say he had feelings for Jaehwan would be an overstatement, but Minhyun couldn’t deny that the other boy did frequent his thoughts lately.

\- • -

Jaehwan looked himself over in the mirror.

“A little more dressed up than usual today?” Daniel, his roommate, asked. 

“Just a little,” Jaehwan replied, fixing the collar of his denim jacket. For some, an outfit consisting of a white shirt under a denim jacket paired with dark, denim jeans and sneakers could be deemed as casual but for Jaehwan, seeing as he normally liked to dress lightweight and comfortable (e.g. a hoodie and jeans) when he went out to busk, the use of a denim jacket added a little something special to his outfit. He also styled his hair a bit, going for a light, tousled look, which was also different from his usual side swept bangs-in-his-face look. 

“Care to share why you’re dressed up today?” Daniel asked. “Is there a certain someone you keep bumping into that’s coming to see you perform?”

“Maybe,” Jaehwan said, turning his body to see what his outfit looked like from the side. “I haven’t told him I’ll be performing.”

“Wait, what?”

When Minhyun asked Jaehwan if he wanted to hang out that Friday, Jaehwan knew he would be busking that day. However, he did want to spend time with Minhyun and so rather than say he would be busy or saying he was free on the spot, Jaehwan decided to play hard to get and waited until Friday to let Minhyun know. He was also sure Minhyun didn’t know Jaehwan busked so the latter thought it would be like a surprise greeting. 

“I’m gonna have him meet me right before I’m about to perform my last song for the night, that way he realizes it’s me singing,” Jaehwan explained. 

“And then he falls in love with you then you two live happily ever after?” Daniel said jokingly. 

“Pretty much!” Jaehwan laughed. “I mean, it’s probably a lot but I don’t know, I kinda like him and I think it would impress him, you know?”

“Assuming all goes according to plan,” Daniel remarked. 

“It should. And if it doesn’t, it’ll still be alright since I’ll be hanging out with him anyway.” Having Minhyun meet him at a certain spot at a certain time didn’t seem like it’d be too hard to accomplish.

\- • -

It was only 6:30 PM and Minhyun had grown restless. The thought of seeing Jaehwan later on occupied his mind all day. He wondered why Hongdae was where they were going to meet up, why Jaehwan chose such a specific time, what exactly Jaehwan had planned for Hongdae, if he had any at all.

 **jaehwan:**  
meet me near the   
vendor selling takoyaki

Minhyun nearly jumped on his bed when he saw that the notification on his phone was a text from Jaehwan. “Takoyaki?” he said to himself. He wondered why Jaehwan picked that specific spot. 

Having decided that he’d get ready at 7:30, Minhyun spent the remaining   
hour watching whatever YouTube videos were on his Recommended page. Once he got washed up and dressed, he made his way towards Hongdae. 

As expected of a Friday night, the lights of various shops and street vendors lit cup the crowded streets full of bustling people. Minhyun checked the text message again, making sure what Jaehwan said was to meet him near a takoyaki stand. 

He walked through the street a bit, trying to find a takoyaki stand. Minhyun originally thought there would be more but in reality he was having a much harder time identifying a takoyaki stand at all. 

It took him a while but he eventually found a takoyaki stand. He was a bit disappointed to see he was there before Jaehwan, but Minhyun decided to give Jaehwan the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was running a little late, or maybe there was another takoyaki stand and that was where he was actually at.

Before Minhyun could even pull out his phone to text Jaehwan, he heard a familiar voice booming over a nearby speaker. 

“And to end off the night, I’ll be singing a song that I’ve been listening to a lot recently. Hope you enjoy it!”

Minhyun walked toward the direction of the voice. There was a large crowd of people that he managed to get through and the moment Minhyun finally got a clear view, the familiar voice started singing. 

Jaehwan, along with two other boys, stood in the center of the crowd surrounding them. Jaehwan was playing an acoustic guitar while the boy to the right of him played bass, and the boy to the left of Jaehwan also played with an acoustic guitar. 

What not only shocked Minhyun was how pleasant to the ears Jaehwan’s voice was, but the song that he was singing. Minhyun knew immediately what song it was when he first heart the opening melody. It was a song that Minhyun that came out during his final year of high school. His older sister would play it a lot whenever she was at home, and because of that, the song became heavily associated with a classmate Minhyun had a crush on at the time. It didn’t help that the song’s lyrics pretty much fit the situation he was in. Things with the other boy didn’t work out, leaving Minhyun crushed, but of course he grew and moved on from it.

Hearing that song sung by Jaehwan though, it was a different experience. It felt newer, refreshing. No longer did the song elicit feelings of heartbreak and regret out Minhyun, but rather, thanks to Jaehwan, an excitement to new beginnings. 

There was a certain easiness that came from Jaehwan’s voice, which Minhyun really liked. He was able to let himself get carried away in the music and in Jaehwan’s voice. Minhyun had never seen Jaehwan perform before; in fact, he hadn’t even known Jaehwan busked. All Minhyun knew was that Jaehwan could sing since he mentioned once about having to take vocal lessons. 

He should’ve expected for Jaehwan to sound good, but what even took Minhyun more by surprise was how charismatic and energetic Jaehwan was. He wasn’t the center of attention for no reason. Jaehwan knew how to engage with the audience, Minhyun could tell by the way the girls around him were swooning over Jaehwan. He would have hated to admitting it but Minhyun himself felt like he was falling head over heels over Jaehwan singing that song. 

_so don’t act like it’s a bad thing to fall in love with me, me_  
it’s not a bad thing to fall in love with me, me  
not such a bad thing to fall in love with me 

The crowd cheered and applauded as Jaehwan finished singing the last chorus, humming the melody along to the final pluckings of the song. 

“Thank you everyone, it was a pleasure performing for you all tonight! Enjoy your Friday night!” Jaehwan said. He started removing his guitar from his body but he remained behind his mic. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, time so sleep in! Unless you work then sucks to be you.”

The audience laughed at his comment. “Goodnight!” Jaehwan said one more time into the mic before helping the rest of the band clean up. 

Minhyun waited a bit before the crowd dispersed a little, which took longer than he expected. Once the band had for the most part, packed everything up back into their van, a couple of girls went up to Jaehwan and the other two boys he performed with to talk with them and take pictures. 

Minhyun wondered how long Jaehwan had been busking. It seemed he’d developed somewhat of a fanbase, which was quite impressive. To think that Jaehwan, the boy who sat in the back of their shared lecture that never brought more than one pen with him to class, was also the same boy who had fangirls. _Is this something I’m going to have to deal with in the future?_ , Minhyun found himself thinking. 

“Enjoyed the show?” Jaehwan shouted towards Minhyun once the girls left.

Minhyun turned his head in Jaehwan’s direction and saw him with his guitar case strapped onto his back. Minhyun had never found himself attracted to musicians but for some reason, the image of Jaehwan walking towards him with his guitar strapped behind him was, well, attractive. 

“I’m sad you didn’t tell me to meet you earlier, I could’ve seen the whole show,” Minhyun said as he walked towards Jaehwan. 

Jaehwan turned and waved at his fellow bandmates who were heading back into their van, then turned back to Minhyun. “Well, then that would’ve taken all the fun out of having you seeing me perform a song that I wanted to dedicate to you.”

Minhyun felt his heart drop to his stomach. Did he hear all that correctly? Did Jaehwan just insinuate - no, he straight up admitted, that him singing that song was for Minhyun? How could Jaehwan be so bold with his actions? 

If Jaehwan were to be honest, he was never like that with anyone he was interested in before. Whatever relationship he had developed with Minhyun over a short period of time had caused him to be more rash and impulsive with his actions. He had a feeling that Minhyun might be mutually interested in him, but regardless of whether that feeling was right or wrong, Jaehwan felt comfortable enough to be bold and daring when it came to his feelings towards Minhyun. 

“You can come watch me next Friday night if you want,” Jaehwan added. “I’ll be here.”

Minhyun chuckled at Jaehwan’s flirtiness. It was almost as if the charisma Jaehwan had as he performed leaked into his off stage personality. Or alternatively, the charisma Jaehwan brought out for performances stemmed from his personality. Either way, Minhyun had grown more interested in Jaehwan. “So, where to?”

“Have you eaten yet?” Jaehwan asked. 

Minhyun shook his head. “Nope. Your treat?”

Jaehwan raised an eyebrow. “First, I dedicate an entire song to you. Now, I have to pay for dinner too?”

“Pay for dinner tonight, and I’ll treat next time.”

Jaehwan raised an eyebrow again. “Oh? What makes you think there’s going to be a next time?”

“Funny you ask that,” Minhyun started, “considering you were the one who made an elaborate plan for me to see you perform your last song of the night, a song you wanted to dedicate to me by the way. Also, bold of you to assume there won’t be a next time when you said just a second ago that I can come watch you next week.”

Jaehwan nodded his head. “Okay, you win.” 

That was probably the first time Jaehwan was actually happy to accept defeat. 

Maybe Jaehwan was right, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for Minhyun to fall in love with him.


	3. fallin all in you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Despite the small act of holding hands, they both considered it to be a major step forward in their relationship. No longer did they feel like they were in an awkward phase between friends to lovers, but rather a more comfortable one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song insp ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5P1R6CRsoM))

\- ♡ -

The first time Minhyun and Jaehwan expressed any sort of romantic feelings towards one another, no words had to be said; a simple grab of hand and interlocked fingers meant more than a verbal confession.

After that first night they hung out, Friday nights at Hongdae became like routine for Minhyun and Jaehwan. On most occasions, Minhyun would arrive on time to see Jaehwan’s entire performance; on more rare occasions, due to reasons such as the occasional Friday shifts Minhyun had at the library, he would meet up with Jaehwan after he finished performing. 

A couple weeks since that night, the two boys decided to spend their Friday night in Hangang. They took the thirty minute bus ride there from Hongdae then stopped by at a nearby convenience store. They each ate a bowl of spicy ramen there then bought ice cream to eat at the park. 

Although it was a Friday night, the park wasn’t as crowded as they expected it to be. It wasn’t something to complain about though, it meant they could spend time together in solitude. 

They walked along the riverside in silence, enjoying the view of the lit up Seongsan bridge. Jaehwan, with his guitar in bag strapped behind him as usual, was munching on a melona bar while Minhyun chewed on a supercone. 

Neither knew what the other was thinking but to no surprise, they were thinking about each other.

They were close friends at that point, but they still considered themselves to be at an awkward stage between being just friends and being more (of course neither of them said it). Did they want more? Clearly. Both of them were aware the other was attracted to them in some form, so they knew there was potential for them to move things forward; it was just that neither took that step. Despite all the bold flirting, they were still relatively shy when it came to their true feelings. 

The air that night was extremely chilly, but regretting their decision to eat ice cream as dessert was the least of their worries. But maybe the cold wasn’t so bad because somehow, the half arm length gap that was once between them grew shorter, almost nonexistent. 

Minhyun’s cheeks grew hot. He was aware of their coat sleeves occasionally brushing against each other as they walked. With the way everything was, Minhyun felt an urge to make some kind of move. He very much wanted to hold Jaehwan’s hand, not only for the sake of expressing affection, but because it was also super cold and he wouldn’t mind the extra warmth. 

But Minhyun was afraid. They were close friends, yes, but they were close friends who also had were interested in each other romantically. Both had admitted to themselves that they had crushes, but neither voiced it to each other. Minhyun was afraid that if he were to reach for Jaehwan’s hand that he’d move away, that he’d reject him. Maybe Jaehwan wasn’t ready, or maybe he wasn’t even into the whole skinship thing in the first place. Maybe Jaehwan liked maintaining distance, maybe he -

Before Minhyun could think any further, his right hand was suddenly being held. 

He looked at Jaehwan, who continued on eating his ice cream as if nothing serious just happened. Minhyun couldn’t even process anything before Jaehwan interlocked their fingers. 

Jaehwan had also been aware of their arms brushing up against each other and like Minhyun, wanted to hold hands. He was unsure if Minhyun wanted the same, but frankly, Jaehwan was not only cold and in desperate need for extra warmth, but he was in the mood to do something spontaneous - so that’s what led him to grab Minhyun’s hand. 

Jaehwan was afraid Minhyun would protest, but all he did was look at Jaehwan briefly then went on to finishing his ice cream. They continued walking hand in hand along the path, stopping briefly to throw their wrappers away and even then did they not let go. That had probably the most quiet they’d been around each other, but they found it nice. Neither of them found it awkward but rather took comfort in the silence. 

Despite the small act of holding hands, they both considered it to be a major step forward in their relationship. No longer did they feel like they were in an awkward phase between friends to lovers, but rather a more comfortable one. They could acknowledge that they were at least a little more than friends and wanted to deepen what they had going on.

After their walk, they decided to make their way back to the dorms. The whole night, they never once let go of each others’ hands until they parted ways. When back in their respective dorm rooms, they both leaned back against their dorms and smiled to themselves. The palms of their hands were very much sweaty, but they had never felt happier.


	4. xo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> " _Shit_ , Minhyun thought to himself. He’d fallen too deep into the hole that was Jaehwan and he was sure he never wanted to get out. "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song insp ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xUfCUFPL-8))

\- ♡ -

The first time they kissed occurred only a little over a week after that night they held hands for the first time, which could be seen as fast considering the slow rate at which they became simultaneously physically intimate and acknowledged each others’ romantic feelings. Granted, they’d barely seen each other at all that week due to midterms and because Minhyun planned on spending time with his family that weekend to celebrate his parents’ anniversary, their regularly scheduled Friday date had to be cancelled.

Opportunity arose for Minhyun and Jaehwan to spend time together that Friday when Minhyun’s sister, who had recently gotten sick, asked him when he got home if he wanted her tickets to Lotte World’s event that night. The complex was hosting an all adult event where all the attractions would be open from 11 PM at night to 3 AM the next morning. Minhyun’s sister was supposed to go with her boyfriend but they had both caught a virus, preventing them from being able to go. Minhyun on the other hand, was perfectly fine and healthy, and now that he had two tickets, he knew exactly how he was going to spend that Friday night. 

Like an excited child, Minhyun giddily ran back to his room and immediately sent Jaehwan pictures of the tickets. 

**minhyun:**  
u down? they’re my sister’s   
tix but she got sick  
she’s also letting me take her car

When Minhyun texted Jaehwan, it was about 6 PM. Normally at that time on a Friday night he’d be at Hongdae performing with his band but because everyone had exams, they decided to take it easy that weekend and hold back from performing. Jaehwan had originally planned on staying in the dorms that night, probably ordering takeout and watching whatever caught his eye on Netflix. Fortunately for Jaehwan, Minhyun was going to change all that.

\- • -

Jaehwan stood outside the front of the school waiting for Minhyun. He was told to be ready by 9:30 since the drive from their school to Lotte World would take about at least an hour and Minhyun wanted to arrive at least half an hour before doors opened.

A couple minutes later, a silver Kia Soul pulled up in front of him. The windows were slightly tinted so Jaehwan couldn’t really see inside. The window of the passenger seat was rolled down and when Jaehwan bent down to see who it was, a smiling Minhyun greeted him. “Get in!”

“Nice car,” Jaehwan said sarcastically as he got in. 

Minhyun chuckled. “Shut up.”

“Didn’t know you could drive,” Jaehwan replied. 

“Well, now you do.”

Jaehwan couldn’t help but stare at Minhyun. The way he was dressed, with his light grey turtleneck and dark coat, made him look like the heir of some large conglomerate. Jaehwan was self aware of his physical attraction to Minhyun but sitting next to him and seeing him drive like that really ignited something else in him. 

“What?” Minhyun asked when he felt Jaehwan’s gaze on him. “Does my driving suck or something?”

Jaehwan turned away. “No, you just look good is all.”

Minhyun perked at the compliment. He did spent a little extra time picking out his outfit earlier so he was glad it paid off. 

“Now would be the time where you say I look good too,” Jaehwan said boldly. 

Minhyun laughed. He quickly glanced over at Jaehwan, who then suddenly sat up straight and pursed his lips. “You look good,” he said. “Cute.”

Jaehwan was wearing a light grey hoodie under a cashmere coat. 

“Cute?” Jaehwan gasped. “That’s all?”

“What did you want me to say? I mean, you do look cute.”

Jaehwan rolled his eyes playfully. “When do I _not_ look cute?”

“You’re right,” Minhyun laughed, “You’re always cute. But today…” he paused. 

Jaehwan wondered what he was going to say, if anything special. 

“Today,” Minhyun started, “you’re extra cute.”

Jaehwan sighed. What else could he have expected to come from Minhyun’s mouth.

“Like a warm dumpling,” Minhyun added. 

“That’s enough for now,” Jaehwan said immediately, further causing Minhyun to laugh even more. 

Not long after that moment did Jaehwan fall asleep. It was dark and they weren’t going to arrive for at least another forty-five minutes, so Minhyun just shrugged it off when he realized the car was silent and saw Jaehwan fast asleep. 

“So cute,” Minhyun said softly to himself after glancing over at the sleeping Jaehwan.

\- • -

By the time they got to Lotte World, there was only fifteen minutes left until doors opened. There was already a huge line of people that looked it was close to extending out to the parking lot.

“Oh, I think they’re letting people in already,” Jaehwan noted, his voice a little groggy from his nap. 

They got out of the car and made their way toward the entrance. By the time they reached the end of the line, it started to move forward quickly. It took them less than ten minutes to get inside. 

Upon entering, Minhyun and Jaehwan stopped to look around them. Although empty, the place started to fill up at an increasing rate. They were both used to seeing the place so lively with children that the sight of the place full of only adults was a bit striking. 

The lines for rides were starting to fill up quickly as more people entered. Earlier in line Minhyun opened up to Jaehwan about a personal trauma he had with heights, which was why he asked if they could skip it out on all the more scary attractions. It was something Minhyun was anxious to talk about with Jaehwan but Jaehwan accepted his request and said nothing further of it. 

“Why don’t we skate?” Jaehwan asked. He was already a couple steps ahead of Minhyun, looking back at him. 

“I don’t know how to skate,” Minhyun said. 

Jaehwan smiled suspiciously. “I can teach you.” He grabbed Minhyun by the hand and dragged him down to the skating rink. 

“I can’t believe you don’t know how to skate,” Jaehwan said once they were all laced up with the skates on their feet. They waddled their way, hand in hand since Minhyun was having a hard time balancing walking with the skates on the flat surface for some reason, from the benches to the barrier. If there was one thing Minhyun could rest assured about Jaehwan, it was that he could rely on Jaehwan to be accepting of and patient with him.

“What are you waiting for?” Jaehwan asked, already on the ice. Minhyun stood before the entrance, hesitant. Jaehwan offered out his hand, “It’ll be fine, trust me.”

Minhyun wanted to melt at the sight of Jaehwan’s warm smile. He was anxious about skating for the first time but Jaehwan’s smile did something to him that made him forget all about his fears. 

When Minhyun stepped onto the ice, Jaehwan immediately grabbed for his hand, which was smart considering Minhyun nearly lost balance and had Jaehwan not been there he would’ve fell straight on his ass. “I got you,” Jaehwan said, tightening his grip on Minhyun’s hand. “Just hold onto the barrier for now. I’ll get you one of those training walkers.”

“But those are for kids!” Minhyun rejected. 

“Correction,” Jaehwan said. “They’re for those who aren’t familiar with being on the ice, which is exactly what you are. And besides, there are no kids here, other adults are using it too!” 

Minhyun wasn’t able to say anything before Jaehwan was already off skating towards the barricaded kids section. It took Jaehwan barely two minutes to grab a walker and bring it to Minhyun. 

“Alright,” Jaehwan said. “Go for it.”

Minhyun hesitated. He nearly fell on his butt when he stepped onto the ice, what made it seem like he wouldn’t fall this time trying to use the walker?

Jaehwan, wanting to help Minhyun as much as he could, pushed the walker closer to Minhyun. 

“What if I fall?” Minhyun asked. 

“I’ll always be right here to help you back up.”

And just like that, Minhyun was swayed. He shifted his body slowly so that his back faced the barricade, his hands still gripped onto the barrier. Jaehwan held his hands as Minhyun transferred his grip from the barricade to the walker. 

“See? That’s not so bad, now is it?” Jaehwan asked. 

“Easy for you to say, you know how to skate.” Minhyun complained. 

“And you will too, trust me! After a couple rounds of using the walker for the first time, I was pretty much comfortable with being on the ice.”

“Again, easy for you to say.”

Jaehwan playfully rolled his eyes. “Are you gonna skate or not?”

Minhyun sighed. He felt like he was literally frozen in place. Because he was tall and the walkers were meant for kids, he had to put a lot of his weight into leaning. 

“The longer you stand there the more uncomfortable your position’s gonna be, you know that right?” Jaehwan commented. He could tell by Minhyun’s odd looking posture that the position he was in wasn’t pleasant. “I’ll pull you, is that okay?” he asked. 

“I can deal with that,” Minhyun agreed. 

Jaehwan positioned himself of the walker and started slowly pulling from behind. “I can only pull you for so long, alright?” he said as he looked back. 

Minhyun was slowly, but steadily shifting the blades of the skates beneath him. They felt heavy and because of their weight, Minhyun found it hard to maintain balance. 

“Keep your knees bent,” Jaehwan advised. “That’ll help you with your balance.”

Jaehwan continued pulling the walker slowly, occasionally looking back to make sure Minhyun hadn’t completely fallen behind him. They went in circles, following the marked pathway in the kids zone. 

Minhyun was glad Jaehwan was patient with him. The more they skated, the more comfortable Minhyun’s body got to being on the ice. He had sort of gotten the hang of bending his knees to an appropriate angle so that he’d maintain balance. 

“Feeling good?” Jaehwan asked when he came to a stop. He turned his body so he faced Minhyun, his hands still gripped onto the front bar of the walker. 

“Yeah, I think I’m getting the hang of it,” Minhyun replied. 

“Great!” Jaehwan exclaimed. “Let’s go to the main area now!”

Minhyun’s heart dropped. “The what now?”

Jaehwan gestured towards the area where more people were skating. “The open area!”

Minhyun slouched over. “Oh, I don’t think I’m quite ready for that yet.”

“You can’t just keep using the walker the whole time, that’s no fun!”

“Just a couple more rounds,” Minhyun pouted. 

As much as Jaehwan wanted to get on the open ice already, he just couldn’t resist Minhyun’s pout. He also didn’t want to rush Minhyun, especially since it _was_ his first time on the ice. “Fine,” he said. 

“But I won’t pull you around,” Jaehwan added. 

“Uh,” Minhyun hesitated. “I guess I could deal with that.”

Jaehwan let go of the walker and immediately Minhyun could feel the difference of Jaehwan’s weight leaving. Minhyun’s weight had become reliant on Jaehwan’s so now all his weight was on the walker instead. 

Minhyun tried to get his feet moving but he just couldn’t. It was his fear of falling and making a fool out of himself that was stopping him, but he wished he didn’t have that fear. Being with Jaehwan made Minhyun feel comfortable with anything, so he felt ridiculous for not feeling like he could embarrass himself in front of Jaehwan. 

“Do you want me to give you a little push?” Jaehwan asked. He could tell Minhyun was overthinking by the way he just stood there staring blankly at the ground. 

Minhyun nodded. “Yes, please.”

“God, you're such a baby,” Jaehwan said as he maneuvered around Minhyun. 

Minhyun laughed. He’d never thought he’d see the day where Jaehwan would be the one calling _him_ a baby. 

“Okay,” Jaehwan started, “On the count of three I’m gonna nudge you.”

He took a breathe before counting. “One. Two.” 

With his arms out, Jaehwan gently pushed Minhyun’s back. “Three.”

As Minhyun felt his body move forward a little, he pushed his weight ahead of him and started moving his legs forward. He continued moving them forward, keeping his knees slightly bent as he moved. 

“Hey, I’m skating!” Minhyun gasped. He felt a heavy weight fall off his shoulders as he skated. It didn’t take long before his muscles relaxed and Minhyun was comfortable skating. 

“I told you it’d be fine!” Jaehwan said, a wide smile spread across his face as he skated alongside Minhyun. 

Jaehwan, feeling mischievous, started skating faster. “Think you can catch up?”

Minhyun, skating at his own pace, glared at Jaehwan. The younger poked his tongue back out at response but then immediately bumped into someone else, causing Jaehwan to stumble back a bit and almost lose his balance. 

Minhyun paused and watched as Jaehwan apologized to the guy he bumped into, trying to hold in his laughter. “I don’t wanna say that’s what you get but...that’s what you get,” Minhyun teased when Jaehwan skated towards him. 

“Whatever,” Jaehwan sneered back. “After a couple rounds do you think you’ll be ready for the real deal?”

“Yeah,” Minhyun responded. He knew he couldn’t just stay in the training area the whole time, that wasn’t what he or Jaehwan came for, so he decided he’d do the couple laps around the small area so his body could become more adjusting to being on the ice.

\- • -

After a couple of rounds around the kids zone, Minhyun felt ready to skate in the open rink. He hadn’t let go of Jaehwan’s hand ever since they ditched the walker and left the kids zone. Despite it feeling like a death grip, Jaehwan found comfort in Minhyun depending on him.

Jaehwan led them out onto the open rink. “All good?” Jaehwan asked. He noticed Minhyun was silent as they moved away from the barrier of the kids zone. 

“Yeah, just being on the ice like this feels _way_ more different than with the walker.” 

Since Minhyun didn’t have the walker to rely on, he had to put more effort into maintaining balance on his feet while moving and keeping his back straight rather than leaning his weight. For the time being the two of them skated at a pace comfortable for Minhyun, with Jaehwan leading them. They started just skating near the barrier outlining the rink with Minhyun a couple feet away from in case he needed to hold onto it, while Jaehwan continued holding his hand. 

Maybe Jaehwan was right, maybe Minhyun _was_ a baby; but if being a baby meant knowing he could rely and depend on Jaehwan and hold his hand for long periods of time, then Minhyun would gladly accept the title. 

“What are you smiling for?” Jaehwan asked. 

“Huh?” Minhyun froze. He hadn’t even been aware of the fact that he was smiling. 

“Thinking about me?” Jaehwan teased. 

“No,” Minhyun denied, his lie being obvious as his ears turned red. 

“Sure,” Jaehwan smirked. “I’m gonna go faster, is that cool?”

Minhyun gulped. “I have no other option but to go along since I’m never letting go of your hand anytime soon.”

Jaehwan shrugged. “Well, that’s not something to complain about!”

Jaehwan started picking up his speed, his movements becoming more swift. Minhyun tried as best as he could to keep up while holding onto Jaehwan’s hand and trying to maintain his own balance. Jaehwan led Minhyun all over the open rink, going from corner to corner, wall to wall. At some point, Minhyun had become well adjusted to the ice and could match Jaehwan’s speed on the ice. Rather than trailing behind him, he could skate next to Jaehwan, which Minhyun was able to take some pride in. 

“Nice to see you next to me rather than behind for once,” Jaehwan commented when he realized Minhyun was skating comfortably beside him. 

Suddenly the lights that lit up the skating rink area started to dim, eventually going out, leaving the lights from outside the rink to illuminate the area. Everyone was confused, looking at each other wondering why the lights went out when out of nowhere, music started blaring from the speakers and the lights started flashing different colors, almost as if the skating rink had become a dance floor. When everyone realized what was happening wasn’t a malfunction, they went back to what they were doing originally.

Jaehwan started leading Minhyun again, adding a little more step to his moves as he danced to the music. Minhyun found Jaehwan’s actions amusing and adorable, he looked like an old man trying to dance while skating. 

“What?” Jaehwan asked.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone dance the way you do,” Minhyun chuckled. 

“If you mean amazing then you’re right,” Jaehwan said, letting go of Minhyun’s hand for a second to point finger guns at Minhyun and stand on the toe of his skates, then interlocking his fingers with Minhyun’s again. 

“You’re definitely something,” Minhyun said. 

They continued on skating, Jaehwan leading them around and even letting go of Minhyun’s hand every now and then to spin or dance freely before going back to hold his hand. 

“Hey, let me spin you,” Jaehwan suggested. 

“What? No,” Minhyun replied, utterly terrified of the outcome. 

“Come on,” Jaehwan persisted, “it’ll be romantic!”

Minhyun hesitated momentarily before finally agreeing. “Fine,” he said, offering his hand out. 

Jaehwan took Minhyun’s hand and raised it. “Okay, spin.”

Minhyun stood there awkwardly with his hand raise above his head. Because of the height difference between him and Jaehwan, the height at which Minhyun’s hand was raised above his head wasn’t too high. Hoping for the best, Minhyun slowly moved his feet forward and turned; however, things didn’t go as planned because the next second Minhyun found himself stumbling to the ground, turning as he fell, his butt hitting the ground followed by his back. 

Apparently Minhyun’s hand was still tightly clutched onto Jaehwan’s so the latter ended up falling soon after, falling face forward with his palms having prevented him from literally falling over Minhyun. 

Their faces were now inches away from each other. It felt all too cliche but time felt like it literally stopped. As if in a movie, everyone and everything around them had slowly disappeared and what’s left was only the blaring music and flashing lights of the skating rink. 

Jaehwan’s eyes glossed over Minhyun’s face. They had never gotten this close before, but seeing him from such a short distance, he was in awe over Minhyun’s beauty. His arms that were holding him up were starting to shake and he felt empowered in the moment to do something. 

Before Minhyun could further enjoy the sight of Jaehwan’s flushed cheeks and full lips only inches away from his, the distance grew shorter as Jaehwan leaned in to press his lips against Minhyun’s. 

Minhyun felt the anticipation as he closed his eyes and felt Jaehwan’s lips. They were soft, a little cold, but Jaehwan’s cheeks weren’t, in fact they were quite hot, probably from the blushing. 

Jaehwan then pulled away and looked at Minhyun again. “Sorry, I -”

Minhyun immediately cut him off and pressed his hand to the back of Jaehwan’s neck, bringing their lips together again. The kiss this time was much deeper, more accepting. Minhyun could feel Jaehwan’s body ease as Jaehwan’s weight became heavier over him. 

Jaehwan didn’t expect Minhyun to nudge his head so they could kiss again but he’s glad it happened. He was so enthralled by the kiss that his hands weren’t even phased by the could ice they were resting on. The two of them laid there on the ice kissing for what felt like forever (turned out to be a couple seconds, no one seemed to notice or care though) before breaking apart again. “We should probably get up,” Jaehwan suggested. 

“You’re right,” Minhyun agreed, looking side to side to see if anyone had noticed. 

Once up, Jaehwan helped Minhyun. “Thanks,” Minhyun smiled. 

“Well, don’t think anyone noticed, so that’s good,” Jaehwan said.

“Yeah.”

They stood there awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. When they finally did make eye contact, neither of them looked away, but rather they both burst out laughing. 

“Let’s go back to skating,” Jaehwan said as he offered his hand out. Feeling good, Minhyun took it and followed Jaehwan. 

At some point while they skated, Jaehwan looked over to Minhyun and smiled. Minhyun felt in that moment his heart drop. With the way the lights were flashing and the music blaring, everything seemed to slow down as Minhyun looked at Jaehwan smiling at him. He adored the way Jaehwan’s face became more full as he smiled, the way his eyes crinkled, the way the the outer curves of his lips went up made Jaehwan look like a kitten. 

_Shit_ , Minhyun thought to himself. He’d fallen too deep into the hole that was Jaehwan and he was sure he never wanted to get out.


	5. ilysb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sorry,” Minhyun quickly replied. 
> 
> “No, don’t be. I love you too, kiss me again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song insp ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPvhItA3lIM))

\- ♡ -

The first time Minhyun and Jaehwan said those three words to each other, both were soaked from the rain. It wasn’t exactly what either of them had pictured the event to play out, but nonetheless, it was still memorable.

About a little over a month after their first kiss came finals season. Both Minhyun and Jaehwan had major projects and exams to worry about so they would rarely see or talk to each other until the end of the day that is, when one would take the walk to opposite end of campus and stay the night at the other’s dorm. 

On an ordinary Tuesday night, Jaehwan found himself at Minhyun’s dorm. Fortunately for the both of them, their respective roommates never seemed to mind when they stayed over, in fact they all got along quite well. Seongwoo was quick to befriend Jaehwan while even though it took awhile for Minhyun to warm up to Daniel’s spontaneousness, they grew to become just as close.

Seongwoo had been in bed sleeping for a couple hours by the time Minhyun and Jaehwan had decided to call it a night on their studying. 

“Oh, shit. Didn’t realize it was that late,” Jaehwan yawned. The clock on Minhyun’s desk read 1:43 AM. They started studying after they washed up and had dinner, which was around 8 the night prior. For the past five hours the two of them had been sustaining themselves on granola bars, fruit snacks and coffee. 

“I’m kinda hungry,” Minhyun grumbled. There wasn’t much food in Minhyun’s dorm other than the snacks they were already consuming and obviously the campus eating facilities were closed at that hour, but the two boys were still hungry for something more fulfilling. 

Jaehwan looked down at his tummy and rubbed it. “Yeah, I could go for something filling to eat.”

“The convenience store nearby should have discounted food around this hour,” Minhyun suggested. 

Jaehwan gave him a questioning look. “How do you know that?”

Minhyun froze. “What? You haven’t been to the convenience store for a late night snack before?”

“Never,” Jaehwan said. 

“Well, now you will.”

\- • -

Having made their way to the register, Minhyun and Jaehwan dropped their choices of food onto the counter. Minhyun chose a grilled pork belly box, two garlic sausage bars, and a bottle of strawberry milk while Jaehwan dropped at least five, various flavored triangle kimbaps and two peach flavored juice jelly packets.

Minhyun reached into his pocket for his wallet to pay for his food first but was shocked to feel that his pockets were completely empty. He turned to Jaehwan, who was preoccupied with fixing his hair in the camera monitor behind the register. 

When Jaehwan realized Minhyun was looking at him in the monitor, he turned back to Minhyun. “Is everything alright?”

Minhyun just smiled innocently. 

Jaehwan knew that smile. It was the smile Minhyun put on whenever he was in trouble or needed something. Judging by the way Minhyun just stood there smiling at him, not paying for his food, it could only mean one thing. 

“You owe me,” Jaehwan said as he pulled out his wallet. He grouped his items with Minhyun’s and told the cashier to ring it all up. 

Once that was all done and paid for, they exited the convenience store. 

“Maybe the total wouldn’t have been that much had you just bought a normal amount of kimbap,” Minhyun chuckled. 

Jaehwan hit him with his bag of food. “You don’t get to judge my life choices when you’re the idiot who forgot their wallet and couldn’t pay for their food!”

Minhyun laughed. He’d never seen Jaehwan so mad before but he couldn’t help but find it cute. The way Jaehwan had his lips pursed in frustration made his cheeks and dimple more prominent, adding to how adorable he looked to Minhyun. 

Failing the urge to resist, Minhyun pinched Jaehwan’s cheek. The latter paused. 

“On god Minhyun I will literally eat your food if you don’t quit!”

Minhyun only laughed harder. He bent over and braced his weight onto his knees, trying to prevent himself from falling over. He caught his breath before standing back up. “Sorry, I was just messing around.”

Jaehwan crossed his arms. He was exhausted from studying, hungry, and now he had about twenty dollars less to his name. He was not in the mood to mess around. 

“Forgive me?” Minhyun asked politely, bringing the palms of his has hands to his chin to do a flower pose with his face. 

With a face like that, Jaehwan obviously couldn’t stay mad. He rolled his eyes at his own inability to remain angry with Minhyun. Wanting to take his frustration out on something, Jaehwan pinched Minhyun’s nose and yanked it side to side a little before letting go. “Forgiven,” he teased. 

When they started walking again it had started raining on them; and it wasn’t just a light shower, it began _pouring_. The two boys started running as the rain continued to intensify. 

It had gotten so bad that they nearly couldn’t see, their vision obscured by the rain. Panicking, Minhyun immediately grabbed Jaehwan’s hand and pulled in under the nearest place of shelter he could find.

Both had been soaked by the heavy rain. They stood under what appeared a tiny roof attached to the side of a random building, probably a restaurant since there was a door behind where Minhyun stood with his back against the wall. 

Because the area of shade was so small, Minhyun and Jaehwan had their bodies pressed closed to each other. They could feel each others’ bodies as they tried to catch their breath from all the running. 

Minhyun, still high off of the adrenaline, looked at Jaehwan intently. Despite the odd lighting, Minhyun could see the prominence of Jaehwan’s facial features: the dark circles from all nighters and overall exhaustion and lack of sleep, the way his bangs stuck to his forehead while still managing to frame his face nicely, the roundness of his face that became more noticeable when he turned his head slightly, his small but always so plump lips, the delicacy of the curves of those same lips, and his glowing cheeks.

Without a single thought, Minhyun cupped Jaehwan’s face and kissed him. The kiss was quick and Minhyun let go nearly a second later. 

“What was that for?” Jaehwan asked, a little delirious. 

“I love you,” Minhyun blurted out with a heavy exhale. 

‘You what?” Jaehwan wasn’t sure if he heard those words correctly. Did Minhyun just say he loved him. 

“Sorry,” Minhyun quickly replied. 

“No, don’t be. I love you too, kiss me again.”

Minhyun furrowed his brows in confusion. He was about to ask ‘what?’ when this time, Jaehwan, now standing on the tip of his toes, cupped Minhyun’s face and kissed him. 

Minhyun could feel himself melting, his smile present as he kissed Jaehwan. He brought his palms and pressed them over Jaehwan’s hands. They stayed like that for a bit, kissing under the tiny shaded area while the world around them continued on, the sound of the rain remaining heavy in their ears.


	6. quit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Minhyun turned around from where he was crouched down and looked at Jaehwan. 'Jaehwan, please. Can you leave me alone for a second? God, it feels like I barely get any alone time here without you barging in all the time.'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song insp ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqeEKAdhY2I%22))

\- ♡ -

The first time Minhyun and Jaehwan had a major argument, nothing like their minor bickerings and petty fights, they were quite far in their relationship. They had been dating for nearly over a year and by then Jaehwan was in his third year of university while Minhyun was in his final year. Minhyun had also found an apartment of his own; it was extremely small, but it was cheap despite it being relatively close to the school and it being a single.

Jaehwan had developed the habit of staying over Minhyun’s place; in fact, it became such a regular habit that they could’ve been considered roommates at that point. Minhyun loved Jaehwan, there was no doubt about it, but he had to admit that Jaehwan was extremely messy and disorganized (at least in terms of living space), and had it not been for the fact that they were dating, Minhyun probably would’ve kicked him out ages ago. 

Unfortunately, because Minhyun cared too much about Jaehwan, he never had the heart to express those feelings to Jaehwan. If anything, he most likely wasn’t even aware of those feelings, probably too blinded by the fact that he had a place of his own and that he could share said place with the person he loved. 

Although he subconsciously repressed those feelings, they’d eventually come out through the expression of passive aggressiveness.

\- • -

The past week had been hell for Minhyun. Because his manager scheduled him shifts out of his availability that he wasn’t able to find cover for, he had to attend them or he’d get written up. The thing was, he didn’t mind that much having to work; what he did mind was the fact that he had two papers and a group project due that week.

Because of his scheduled shifts, Minhyun had less time to work on those assignments. He had pulled two all nighters in a single week just to get them done on time so by the end of the week, he was really burnt out. 

When he came home that Friday night, he felt a huge wave of relief. Because he’d spent of his time at the library or at work, it was almost as if he hadn’t been inside his apartment for a week. Unfortunately, all the stress he had experienced was coming back to him as he entered his apartment, the sight of it a complete mess. 

Dishes were left in the sink unwashed, the hamper was full of clothes that he knew didn’t all belong to him, bed completely unmade, crumbs and litter everywhere. It didn’t help that the first thing Minhyun he saw upon entering was Jaehwan on the tiny sofa, legs completely spread out, literally looking like the epitome of a lazy bum. 

“Good to finally see you home!” Jaehwan exclaimed. 

“That makes one of us,” Minhyun snapped as he walked towards his bedroom. He got out of his work uniform and changed into a shirt and a pair of sweatpants. 

“Is everything alright?” Jaehwan had just walked into the room, his head peeking out of the space between the door and the doorframe. 

Minhyun didn’t respond. He unpacked his bag and started tidying up the mess in his room. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get work done if the state of his apartment stayed the way it was. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

Minhyun wanted peace and quiet to himself, but with Jaehwan in his apartment, he wouldn’t get that. “I’m _fine_.”

“No, you’re not,” Jaehwan protested, taking a step inside the room. 

Minhyun turned around from where he was crouched down and looked at Jaehwan. “Jaehwan, please. Can you leave me alone for a second? God, it feels like I barely get any alone time here without you barging in all the time.”

The words came out harsher that Minhyun expected and he’d immediately regret everything he said once those words escaped his mouth. 

Jaehwan blinked. What came out of Minhyun’s mouth didn’t even sound like it’d ever come from him. When he fully comprehended the tone in Minhyun’s voice, Jaehwan stepped backwards. 

“Oh.” 

“Jaehwan, I -”

“Well, if that’s how you feel about me being here then I guess I’ll go.”

Minhyun got up but stopped after that. He wanted to chase after Jaehwan but he held back. In a matter of seconds he heard the front door close. All Minhyun could do was sign then go back to tidying everything.

\- • -

_God, it feels like I barely get any alone time here without you barging in all the time._

The words echoed in Jaehwan’s head as he walked back to the dorms. How could Minhyun say such a thing? If he felt like that, why didn’t he just say so? Why’d he let Jaehwan have his spare key if he felt like Jaehwan was always barging in on him?

Whether or not Minhyun really meant what he said, the words still came out of his mouth, meaning there was some truth to how he was feeling. Because of that, Jaehwan would give Minhyun all the time he needed for himself. He would stop barging in, he’d let Minhyun have his alone time.

\- • -

About a week had gone by since Minhyun and Jaehwan had last spoken. Fortunately for the both of them, they had other responsibilities to attend to that helped distract them from thinking about how much they missed each other.

Both were too stubborn to make contact again. Minhyun knew he had hurt Jaehwan’s feelings with what he said, so he thought it’d be a good idea to let not only himself but also Jaehwan, simmer down from their last exchange. Because Minhyun complained about not having time to himself, Jaehwan thought it’d be good to give Minhyun the space he wanted and needed. 

But a week was too long. Jaehwan couldn’t stand being apart from Minhyun for even a day, so a week really took a toll on him, as dramatic as that sounded. 

Over the week that they spent apart, Jaehwan reflected heavily on what Minhyun said. He spent the first couple of days being angry but once he got over it, he thought about what could have been at the root of Minhyun’s frustration.

When Jaehwan walked in on him that night, Minhyun had already started tidying up his room, which was out of the ordinary because first of all, his room would be normally be tidy and second, his normal routine after coming home would be to change out of his uniform and start making dinner. From there, Jaehwan came to the conclusion that he was probably the reason why Minhyun was so frustrated when he got home. 

He recalled rarely seeing Minhyun the week they had their fallout. Jaehwan had stayed over a couple days and realized he probably wasn’t being as clean as he should have during his stay there. 

Wanting to make it up to Minhyun, Jaehwan decided to clean Minhyun’s apartment.

\- • -

When he arrived, spare key in hand, he was surprised to see the place still a bit messy, but slightly better than when he had left it. Having been with Minhyun for so long, Jaehwan had developed the knack for identifying dirty spots that would normally bypass someone who wasn’t, well, Minhyun.

He started by picking up anything on the ground that didn’t belong there, such as random socks or crumples of paper. Then he swept the floor in every room. He dusted countertops and tabletops, making sure everything with a surface was wiped down. The laundry had been done but there was a basket of already washed laundry sitting on Minhyun’s bed; Jaehwan decided to fold those and put them away in their designated areas too. There were no dishes in the sink but any that were remaining were then put into their respective shelves in the cabinets. To conclude his cleaning spree, Jaehwan took out the trash and dumped any recyclables into their respective bins downstairs. 

It only took him nearly three hours but Jaehwan felt completely relieved after. Maybe that was why Minhyun liked cleaning so much.

While sitting on the couch waiting for Minhyun to get home from work, Jaehwan pulled out his guitar from its case and started playing. He hoped that by then Minhyun would have cooled down from their fallout and they could go back to normal. Them barely having seen and spoken to each other for a week was too much, and Jaehwan missed Minhyun immensely.

\- • -

The bus ride home from Minhyun’s part time job felt even longer that night. Whether it was because of all the thinking he did or because of how much he was missing Jaehwan, he couldn’t really decide. Regardless, he decided that he’d give Jaehwan a call that night, asking him to come over.

Or not. 

“Jaehwan?” Minhyun said as he entered his apartment to the sight of Jaehwan playing his guitar on the couch. 

“You’re home!” Jaehwan said, his face completely lit up. He rested his guitar on the couch and got up to immediately wrapped his arms around Minhyun, who stumbled back due to the weight. 

“What are you doing here?” Minhyun asked with surprise. He noticed, and practically felt, something different about the apartment. With Jaehwan still clinging tightly onto Minhyun, the latter shifter his eyes around the room to see what was different. “Did you do something?” he asked.

Jaehwan released himself from Minhyun. “Oh, this?” He gestured toward the living room. “I cleaned up, hope you’re not mad at me anymore.”

Minhyun started inspecting the room, pressing his index finger on different surfaces to spot any specs of dust, which he was pleasantly surprised to not find. “Did you clean everything?”

Jaehwan went back on the couch and grinned. “Yeah.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Jaehwan shrugged it off. “I wanted to. I couldn’t stand not seeing you or talking to you so I thought this would patch things up between us.”

Minhyun was touched. At that point he really couldn’t care less about the reason why they had a falling out, he’d just wanted to be with Jaehwan again. 

“Sorry for being such a pig,” Jaehwan added. “I got so comfortable staying here that I forgot I’m still a guest.”

“You’re not a guest, Jaehwan. You’re welcome here anytime, you know that. I literally gave you my spare key. Anyway, I’m sorry for not communicating better.”

Jaehwan grabbed his guitar and positioned it in his lap. “Is this when I say something like ‘home is wherever you are’ or something?”

“Why don’t we just hug it out,” Minhyun suggested. 

Jaehwan put his guitar in its case. “What are we, just bros? Come here and kiss me, you idiot! It’s been a week of not seeing you, I need to catch up on all those missed kisses!”

Minhyun chuckled and walked over to Jaehwan, and just like that, things went back to normal.


	7. still into you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "'Why are you just standing there? Help me get these sheets on!' Jaehwan yelled. His frustration and desperateness to get the sheets on so they could go back to kissing only humored Minhyun further."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song insp ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OblL026SvD4))

\- ♡ -

The first time they move in together marked another huge milestone in their relationship. They had been dating for a little over two years by that point, and Jaehwan had been living with Minhyun in the latter’s old, tiny apartment for over six months prior to them moving into a new place together.

They had finally gotten all their boxes and furniture set up, all they had left to do was just unpack and basically get settled into their new home (oh, and of course clean; that was the first thing Minhyun made a mental note of for them to do before they did any unpacking).

“Alright,” Minhyun said. They had just finished unloading the last batch of boxes into their shared bedroom. “Grab a broom. Let’s get to sweeping!”

Jaehwan groaned and flopped onto the naked mattress. “Can we, I don’t know, maybe take a break? We’ve been loading and unloading the _whole_ day!”

Minhyun laughed. “You’re right.”

He joined Jaehwan on the bed and sat next to him. “Would you rather we made out instead?”

Naturally, Jaehwan’s face lit up. 

Jaehwan laid back as Minhyun crawled over him and started planting kisses over his neck. 

“I would have never imagined that one day clean freak Minhyun would be kissing me on a mattress with no sheets,” Jaehwan said. 

Minhyun paused and brought his head up. “You’re right. Let’s get the sheets on.”

Jaehwan groaned again. “Why did I say that? _Why_ did I say that?”

Minhyun chuckled. “Come on, the faster we get the sheets on the faster we can go back to kissing.”

Jaehwan immediately got off the bed and started cutting open the box labeled ‘BED.’ Minhyun had never seen Jaehwan so enthusiastic to get bed sheets on before, it was quite amusing.

“Why are you just standing there? Help me get these sheets on!” Jaehwan yelled. His frustration and desperateness to get the sheets on so they could go back to kissing only humored Minhyun further. 

That day might’ve been just the start of their living together, but they planned on making that last. After having been together for two years, as short as that sounded compared to longer, more established relationships, neither Minhyun or Jaehwan could picture spending the rest of their lives with anyone else. They’d had their ups and their downs, argued over their differences, have even gone a couple occasions not speaking to the other out of anger, but the thought of being with anyone else never crossed their minds. Despite all their faults and troubles, they both accepted each other for who they were. They couldn’t guarantee forever, but it was definitely something they wanted to aim for.

\- ♡ -

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed (≧◡≦)
> 
> check out more from whenduskarrives [here](http://www.whenduskarrives.site/)! (^▽^)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/offsynth)


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